


Trolling Alya

by SailorChibi



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste Knows, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Nino Lahiffe Friendship, Alya Cesaire Does Not Know, Alya Césaire Ships It, Bathing Suits, Cheek Kisses, Cuddling, Forehead Kisses, Gen, Hand Kisses, Hugging, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Knows, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Alya Cesaire Friendship, Matchmakers Alya Césaire & Nino Lahiffe, Nicknames, Nino Lahiffe Ships It, Nino Lahiffe is just sort of along for the ride, Platonic sharing of a bed, Poor Alya, Post-Reveal Pre-Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Pre-Relationship, Sharing a Bed, Swimming, Teasing, Touchy-Feely, Trolling, alya is doing her best to get marinette and adrien together, and it is driving her up the wall, friendships, marinette and adrien are trolls, post identity reveal, post-reveal adrien agreste | chat noir & marinette dupain-cheng | ladybug, supportive team, well they're trying anyway with limited success, you know these kids are all about the platonic touching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-02-25 03:07:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 14,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22008973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorChibi/pseuds/SailorChibi
Summary: It was just one of those things that didn't have a simple explanation. As surely as the sun rose in the east, Marinette Dupain-Cheng was going to marry Adrien Agreste. That was a fact that Ladybug knew in her heart, and she knew that Chat knew it too. The unspoken acknowledgement surrounded the two of them like a warm, cozy blanket. There was really no need to rush to dating because that next step was always going to be there; they had all the time in the world.And in the meantime, torturing Alya wasreallyfun.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 508
Kudos: 2971





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a short, silly fic I wrote up because the thought of Marinette and Adrien torturing Alya was too funny. Hopefully my sense of humor translates.

When Alya first made the suggestion that they go camping, Marinette's instinct was to say no. Going on vacation was a luxury that neither Ladybug nor Chat Noir could afford, particularly since Alya wanted both Marinette _and_ Adrien to go on the overnight camping trip with her and Nino. Alya might not have known it, but that would mean four out of five Parisian heroes would be away from the city for the night. 

No matter which way she spun it, Marinette couldn't in good conscience come up with a reason to say yes. It was simply too dangerous, and it was with a lot of regret she texted Alya to turn down the invite.

But then she went on patrol.

"Pleeeeeeeaaaaaaaaase," Chat begged, falling to his knees and clasping his hands in front of his face.

"Chat, it's just not a good idea," Ladybug said, trying to steel herself against his kitty eyes. Adrien was hard enough to say no to, but Chat? The sad eyes, the drooping kitten ears, the slumped shoulders, the dramatic frown - Ladybug _knew_ she was being played, but damn it all if it wasn't working. 

"It's a great idea! We need a break and you know it. Especially you," Chat said, batting his eyes. "Come on, Bugaboo. Doesn't the thought of a fire under the stars sound appealing? No school, no akumas, no designs, no Lila..."

He knew her weak spots. Ladybug sighed. "Sure there won't be an akumas where we are, but what about Paris?"

Chat smiled up at her. "I have it all figured out. We can give the Bee miraculous to Chloé for the weekend." He held a hand up when she opened her mouth, quickly adding, "I really think Chloé is ready for this. She can take over patrolling for the one night that we're gone. If something goes wrong, she can distract the akuma until we get there. I already checked with Alya; the campsite is only two hours away from Paris. Transformed, you and I can make it back in like forty-five minutes. Queen Bee can totally take care of an akuma for forty-five minutes and you know it."

She closed her mouth, realizing that he had put a lot of thought into this. He really wanted this. More so than she had anticipated. Enough to have figured out what her objections would be and come up with workable solutions. Much as she hated to admit it, he was right about Chloé. Ladybug sighed and put her hands on her hips.

"You do realize that the only reason Alya cooked up this scheme is because she thinks she can get us to start dating, right?"

"Absolutely," Chat said, smirking.

Ladybug studied him for a moment. "You totally want to go just to mess with her, don’t you?"

"Got it in one, My Lady," Chat said, smirk broadening into a grin. He took her hands into his, pressing kisses to her knuckles.

With effort, she kept her face straight while she thought about it. The thought of being able to mess with Alya was incredibly tempting. The recent change in Marinette's and Adrien's friendship was already driving Alya crazy. Seemingly overnight, the two of them had gone from casual friends to sharing inside jokes, cute nicknames, and meaningful looks. Since she couldn't tell Alya the truth - which was that Ladybug had accidentally detransformed in front of Chat, and the dumb cat had followed suit before she could stop him - Marinette had been dodging the subject as best she could.

What wasn't so easy to dodge was Alya's insatiable curiosity over whether they were going to take the next step and start dating. It was literally the first thing Alya asked her every morning, and the last thing Alya asked her every night. And every time Marinette told her no, she was pretty sure that the veins in Alya's forehead got a little bit bigger from sheer frustration. 

It was, if Ladybug was being honest, hilarious. The day that Adrien walked over, kissed Marinette's cheek and lovingly called her 'Princess' while wrapping his arms around her, Marinette thought Alya's head was going to explode.

It was just one of those things that didn't have a simple explanation. As surely as the sun rose in the east, Marinette Dupain-Cheng was going to marry Adrien Agreste. That was a fact that Ladybug knew in her heart, and she knew that Chat knew it too. The unspoken acknowledgement surrounded the two of them like a warm, cozy blanket. There was really no need to rush to dating because that next step was always going to be there; they had all the time in the world. 

Right now, Ladybug was just thoroughly enjoying both the anticipation and the ability to cuddle up to Adrien while watching Alya try not to choke to death on her blueberry smoothie as Nino awkwardly patted his girlfriend on the back.

"Okay," Ladybug said at last. "But you realize this means we'll end up sharing a tent."

Chat shrugged. "A tent has to be more comfortable than the time you fell asleep on top of me and then rolled off the roof."

"That was one time, you asshole!" Ladybug freed her hands and shoved his forehead. Chat yowled and fell backwards onto his ass. Ladybug huffed and threw herself off the roof.

"Rude!" he yelled after her. "Just for that, I'm not purring while you sleep!'

"Yeah right," she muttered to herself, rolling her eyes but smiling to herself as she made her way home. Chat purred every single time they hugged, transformed or not, and they both knew it. 

She landed lightly on her balcony and detransformed, making her way back inside. At just after midnight, everything was quiet. Her papa wouldn't be up to start the day's duties for another three hours. Marinette landed on her bed and crossed her legs, reaching under her pillow for the cookies she'd left Tikki. Her kwami beamed and took one of the cookies, biting into it happily. Marinette smiled back and took out her phone, sighing when she saw all the texts that Alya had sent her. Alya had never been good at taking no for an answer.

"Do you want to go, Marinette?" Tikki asked, peering down at the screen. A crumb fell onto the glass. Marinette absently wiped it away.

"You know what, I think I do. It would be nice to get away from Paris for even one night. I'm just not sure..." Marinette sighed.

"I think Chat is right. Queen Bee can handle things. And if you two needed to get back quickly, you could," Tikki said. 

"Really?" Marinette said hopefully.

Tikki nodded. "Go for it."

"Okay." Marinette quickly tapped out a text to Alya rescinding her earlier reply and agreeing to go. Just as she hit send, a text from Adrien popped up.

"What is it?" Tikki said, seeing the look on Marinette's face.

"Ugh, that cat. He said he went to get the Bee miraculous from Fu and is on his way to drop it off to Chloé. He's so presumptuous! What if I'd said no still?" Marinette said, scowling at her phone.

"Just think. You get to deal with that for the rest of your life," Tikki said slyly.

"I know, right?" Marinette sighed and dropped her phone, grabbing her covers. She scooted down in bed, pulling the covers up over her head and letting the excited smirk roll across her face. This was going to be _fun_.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Marinette was woken up appallingly early by Alya barging into her room. Tikki barely had a chance to scramble under the covers. Marinette sat up, yawning and pouting sleepily as Alya started throwing things into one of Marinette's backpacks. She thought about protesting, but honestly that would’ve taken too much energy. Or at least, that’s what she thought until Alya threw a shirt at her and it hit Marinette in the face.

“Come on, Mari! Get up! We’re gonna be late!” Alya said excitedly.

“We’re going camping. The forest isn’t going to run away,” Marinette said grumpily, pulling the shirt off her head to glare at her so-called best friend.

Alya was unmoved. “If you’re not up in five minutes, I’m sending Adrien in.” She darted back down the steps.

The covers moved as Tikki poked her head out. “Does she even realize that’s not a threat? Adrien would just crawl back into bed with you.”

Marinette stared at the shirt in her hands. “Do you even realize how unmotivated that makes me to get up?”

“Marinette! You’ve got four minutes!” Alya yelled up the stairs.

“I regret all my life choices,” Marinette muttered, throwing the covers aside. She slithered down the ladder, exchanged her pajamas for a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and did a cursory inventory to make sure Alya had packed all the necessary stuff. Then she scooped Tikki into her purse and trudged down the steps.

Nino and Adrien were sitting on the couch, looking as sleepy as Marinette felt. Alya was practically vibrating with excitement. Sabine was visibly trying not to laugh as she handed Alya a picnic basket crammed to the brim with food. Marinette shot her maman a dark look, which just made Sabine grin, and kissed her goodbye before following Alya out the door. A moment later, Nino and Adrien followed.

“No way, I want to sit in the back!” Nino said when he caught Marinette opening the back door on the driver’s side. Alya had borrowed her mother’s car for the trip, which meant she would be driving. Adrien nonchalantly drifted around to the passenger’s side, opened the back door, and crawled in. Nino and Marinette watched him covetously before glaring at each other.

“Nope. You get to sit up front with your girlfriend,” Marinette said.

“But I don’t want to,” Nino whined. “I wanna cuddle in back with Adrien.”

“Fuck you, Lahiffe, Adrien’s mine,” Marinette hissed, and okay she might’ve been spending a _little_ too much time with Chat.

“Nino! Let Marinette and Adrien have the back!” Alya commanded as she finished loading the picnic basket and Marinette’s backpack into the trunk. She looked at Nino in a way that was clearly meant to be both meaningful and subtle. Marinette rolled her eyes. Nino sulked and reluctantly circled around to get in the front.

“Sucker,” Marinette mumbled, scrambling in. Adrien chuckled, shaking his head as he put his seatbelt on. Marinette put her seatbelt on too, sticking her tongue out at Nino when Nino glanced back at them. Nino’s eyes narrowed and he stuck his tongue out too.

“Children,” Alya said, getting into the driver’s seat. “Stop.”

“Can I at least pick the music?” Nino said.

Alya gestured grandly to the radio as she turned the car on. “Sure.”

“Can we stop for coffee?” Adrien asked, muffling a yawn. His hand was resting on the middle seat between them. Marinette eyed it and then glanced at the front. Alya was making a big show out of adjusting the rear-view mirror; Marinette would’ve bet good money that Alya was adjusting the mirror so she could see _Marinette and Adrien_ , not out the back window.

Marinette inched her hand closer to Adrien’s experimentally.

Alya’s hand froze.

 _Gotcha_.

Pretending that she had no idea they were being watched, Marinette casually looked out Adrien’s window. She could see him watching out of the corner of his eye; a hint of a smirk tugged at his lips, but he was practiced at masks and could whip up a perfect straight face at the drop of a hat. Marinette, on the other hand, knew she would crack up if she looked directly at him, and so she focused on the shop across the street as she moved a little closer.

Closer.

Just a bit closer…

Almost within reach…

She was pretty sure Alya was holding her breath.

And then Adrien lifted his hand to scratch his cheek and said innocently, “Hey Alya, we’ve been sitting here for a couple of minutes. If you’re not comfortable driving, I don’t mind.”

Alya’s hand tightened so much on the rear-view mirror that it looked like she was trying to snap it off and she exhaled loudly and forcefully through her teeth. Marinette had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

“No, I’m fine,” Alya ground out after a few seconds. She thrust the car into drive and slammed on the accelerator. Marinette lurched back against her seat as the car jerked away from the curb and into the flow of traffic, prompting several horns to blare.

Adrien glanced at Marinette and raised his eyebrows, a look that said, ‘we probably shouldn’t tease Alya when she’s driving if we want to arrive alive’.

Marinette gave him a quick nod. One of the best parts about knowing each other’s identities was the ability to communicate like this. Being able to apply the context of Chat Noir and their partnership had helped her to break through the mystery that was Adrien Agreste, and she was certain that realization had gone both ways. And of course, it was yet another thing that drove Alya bonkers.

Alya swung into a drive through and stopped. “Okay, what do you want?”

They weren’t driving anymore. Marinette smiled. “Adrien wants a blueberry tea with milk and honey,” she said.

“Marinette wants a mocha with whipped cream,” Adrien said at almost the same time.

“Seriously?” Nino said, turning to look at them.

“What?” Marinette said. “A mocha with whipped cream sounds amazing.”

“And a blueberry tea would really hit the spot,” Adrien added.

Alya pushed her glasses up so that she could pinch the bridge of her nose. “You know, Nino and I have been dating for like a year and a half and he still doesn’t know what I like to drink.”

“Hey!” Nino said.

“Sorry Babe, but it’s true. Last time I let you order for me, you brought me a mint tea,” Alya said. “I hate mint tea.”

Nino pouted. 

“It’s okay, Nino,” Adrien said soothingly. “I brought Marinette a black coffee once and she dumped it on my head.”

“Marinette!” Alya exclaimed. “Did you really?!”

“I – that was – that was an accident! I tripped!” Marinette said defensively, glaring at Adrien. Ladybug had dropped her coffee on Chat’s head after an akuma surprised the hell out of the both of them, but she couldn’t exactly explain those extenuating circumstances. And Adrien knew it too, because he grinned at her like the little shit he was. 

Marinette glared back. Now she _really_ regretted her life’s choices. “I’ve changed my mind. Adrien wants a _pineapple_ tea.”

“Ew,” Adrien said, wrinkling his nose. “Princess, why you gotta be so mean?”

“Guess your princess has claws,” Marinette said with a smirk. 

“The only claws here are mine,” Adrien murmured back, his eyes bright. They stared at each other intensely until Alya let out a loud groan.

“Alright, stop eye fucking each other and tell me what you really want,” she ordered as she pulled up to the window.


	3. Chapter 3

“Alright, Adrien. We need to talk.”

Adrien froze midway through his last drink of blueberry tea and cast a wide-eyed look around the car. Nino and Marinette were both sleeping; Nino had his face planted against the window and was snoring, while Marinette was drooling onto her shirt. Her purse was open just enough for Adrien to be able to see the shit-eating grin on Plagg’s face. He narrowed his eyes at his kwami and finished his drink.

“Okay, Alya. What do you want to talk about?” Adrien asked in the most innocent tone he was capable of. They were about half an hour from the campsite by his estimate, though they were progressing faster than he’d expected. He didn’t know why he hadn’t figured that Alya would have a lead foot.

“What do you think of Marinette?” Alya said. It could have been an innocent question, but Adrien knew it was anything but. Alya’s eyes watched him in the rear-view mirror like a snake waiting to strike.

Still, he decided to be honest. “Marinette is amazing, you know that. She’s really kind and she always puts other people first no matter how much of a detriment it is to her. Like last week, when she had to stay up all night finishing those new Kitty Section costumes even though it meant she was super tired all day…”

“Yeah, I remember,” Alya said tightly. Adrien hid a smirk: he was sure Alya did remember, since she’d spent the whole day filming Marinette falling asleep on him in various positions. 

“And she’s so creative. I know I grew up with my dad so I should be used to stuff like that, but Marinette is on a whole new level. She has such a _passion_ for everything that she does, and I really admire that.” He looked over at Marinette and couldn’t help smiling. “She throws herself into whatever she does, and she never backs down from a challenge. I wish I could be more like that.”

For a split second, Alya looked genuinely torn. Adrien held his breath. He’d thrown that last line in there purposely, hoping to distract her from the conversation. Alya, Marinette and Nino hated it when he talked badly about himself. If he so much as implied that he wasn’t good enough or that he was lacking in some way, all three of them would fall all over themselves to point out his better qualities. 

Alas, Alya failed to take the bait. She cleared her throat, gave her head a shake, and said, “I totally agree. So don’t you think it’s likely that someone is going to ask Marinette out?”

“Oh, you mean Luka?” Adrien said, eyes wide. “I actually think Marinette turned him down.”

“Not Luka,” Alya said.

Adrien cocked his head. “You mean Nathaniel, then?”

“No! Nathaniel and Marc are going out!”

“Oh… hmm, do you mean Kim? I thought he was over his crush on Marinette…”

“He is!”

“So did you mean –”

“Adrien, I didn’t mean a _specific person_!” Alya practically screeched. “I just meant that at some point, someone else is going to figure out how amazing Marinette is and ask her out.”

“Oh,” Adrien said again, coughing to hide a laugh. “Well, that would be Marinette’s decision, right?”

Alya’s fingers were curled so tightly around the steering wheel that her knuckles were turning white. “Yes, of course it would be. But don’t you think that it would be better if _you_ asked Marinette out first?”

“Why would I do that?” Adrien said, pretending to be genuinely puzzled.

“Because Marinette –” Alya cut herself off.

“Marinette what?” Adrien said. He knew, of course, what she was about to say. Marinette had confessed her crush on him not too long after their identities had been revealed. Adrien had cursed himself backwards and forwards for not figuring it out sooner.

Honestly, he’d felt like a real idiot. All those months he’d spent fearing that Ladybug’s crush might come to return her feelings had been a waste because _he_ was Ladybug’s crush. The two of them had spent months chasing each other’s tails. It was one of the reasons why they hadn’t rushed to start dating right away. Adrien cherished the ability to be Marinette’s _friend_ with no secrets between them.

Including, of course, that at some point they were going to start dating. It was only a matter of time. And if he didn’t know that Marinette felt the same way because of the many conversations they’d had, he probably would be afraid that someone else was going to get there first. But he wasn’t. He knew that Marinette was in love with him, and she knew that he was in love with her, and so he knew that if anyone asked Marinette out, she would very gently and sweetly turn them down.

“Marinette cares about you,” Alya said very carefully. “And it’s obvious that you care about her.”

“Of course I do. Marinette is my friend,” Adrien said, just for the pleasure of seeing Alya visibly twitch.

“But don’t you want to be _more_ than just friends?” Alya said bluntly.

“You mean best friends?” Adrien asked. 

Alya turned her head to stare at him.

He blinked back innocently. “I thought you and Marinette were best friends… and of course, Nino is my best friend. Do you mean you don’t want to be best friends with Marinette anymore?”

She kept staring.

Adrien grew concerned. “Uh, Alya, you should probably look at the road.”

Silence and more staring.

“Alya, the road!” Adrien cried.

Nino jerked and snorted awake. “What – holy shit! Alya!” He grabbed the steering wheel, pulling the car back into their lane.

“What? What’s going on?” Marinette said, sitting up and blinking.

“I broke Alya,” Adrien said, not unapologetically. 

Marinette sighed and rubbed her face. “Okay. Alya, pull over.”

Mutely, Alya obeyed. Adrien, Marinette and Nino breathed a collective sigh of relief when the car was stopped, and Nino quickly put the vehicle into park. They all sat there for a moment and then Nino pushed his door open, got out, and walked around the car to help Alya out. Adrien leaned forward to see them; Alya dropped her head against Nino’s chest and just stood there in defeat.

“Wow, you weren’t kidding. You really broke her,” Marinette said admiringly.

“It was epic,” Plagg said, snickering.

“It really was, but you’re lucky she didn’t crash the car,” Tikki piped up, frowning at Adrien.

Adrien shrugged. “Alya’s the one who brought it up while we were driving, not me. What else was I supposed to do?”

“Okay, now I’m curious,” Marinette said. “What did you say?”

It didn’t seem like Alya was getting back in anytime soon, so Adrien quickly filled Marinette in on their conversation. Marinette put her hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter when she heard about the ‘best friends’ thing. Adrien couldn’t help grinning. That had been one of his better moments if he did say so himself.

“And then you woke up,” he finished.

“Oh, _mon minou_ , you are evil,” Marinette whispered. “Poor Alya. She probably thinks you’re dumb as a bag of rocks now.”

“Well, at least I’m pretty,” Adrien said with a shrug.


	4. Chapter 4

For safety reasons, Nino drove the rest of the way to the campsite. Marinette glanced around curiously as they got out of the car. It looked like a beautiful place. The campsite was surrounded by a forest, but not so densely that she was left feeling trapped. From where they stood, she could see paths into the woods and even, through the trees, a river. The cries and shrieks of happy kids made her smile.

“Adrien and I will go get us signed in,” Nino said. “You girls unpack the car.” He hooked his arm through Adrien’s and literally dragged Adrien away. Marinette had the feeling that Adrien was in for a lecture about not breaking Alya’s brain.

Alya unlocked the trunk and pulled out her backpack, which she slung over a shoulder. “I think we have about a ten-minute walk to our campsite,” she said. “Good thing we packed light!”

Marinette peeked in the trunk, her smile slowly fading to a frown as she inspected the contents. There were three bags – hers, Adrien’s and Nino’s. There was the picnic basket her maman had forced on Alya. There was a cooler, presumably filled with drinks. There were two tents and two blankets… and there were two sleeping bags. That was it.

“Alya, why are there only two sleeping bags?” Marinette asked, having the feeling she already knew the answer.

“What?” Alya exclaimed loudly, making a big show of looking into the trunk.

“Yeah, there’s only two. And no extra blankets,” Marinette said.

“Oh my god!” Alya said, dramatically clapping her hands over her mouth. “I must have forgot to pack the other two sleeping bags! I was in such a rush! How forgetful of me!”

“Yeah, how about that,” Marinette said dryly, crossing her arms over her chest. She wasn’t fooled for a moment. “I guess this means we’ll have to share.”

“I guess that is the most logical conclusion,” Alya said. “Speaking of sharing, Nino and I were wondering if you and Adrien would mind if he and I shared a tent. This is the first time in a long time where we’ve had the chance to… you know.” She dropped her act and outright grinned. “You’re good with that, right?”

Marinette shook her head. “You’re shameless.”

“I knew you’d understand! Thanks girl,” Alya said, throwing an arm around Marinette’s shoulders. “And oh hey, I guess this means you and Adrien get to share! What a coincidence!”

“Sure is,” Marinette said, rolling her eyes. 

“Maybe this means you two can finally have a talk,” Alya continued. “Though I’m afraid you’re going to have to be _really_ blunt. I mean, you’re gonna have to grab that boy by the shoulders and lay one on him… and even then, you might still have to tell him you meant it romantically. Best friends, honestly!”

Marinette couldn’t help laughing. “I’m not going to kiss Adrien, Alya. We’re just friends.”

“But you could be _more_. There could be hand holding! Kissing! Clothes coming off! Seriously, Mari, I don’t understand. You’ve wanted to be more for years! Now that you two are finally close, you’ve backed off.” Alya looked frustrated.

“I told you that Adrien and I just want to be friends right now,” Marinette said patiently, slipping out from under Alya’s arm.

“Friends don’t act the way you two do,” Alya said.

Maybe not, but partners who had worked together for years and developed a bond forged through life-or-death situations sure did. Unfortunately, Marinette couldn’t come right out and explain that. She had come to terms with Adrien knowing her identity and had even bee able to see how this was the best thing for them. But she wasn’t ready for anyone else to know, not even Alya or Nino. Neither was Adrien.

She took her bag and Adrien’s out of the trunk and said, “I guess we’re different.”

“It’s nerves, isn’t it?”

“What?” Marinette said, looking up in surprise. Her heart sank at Alya’s newly determined expression.

“This is just like when we were fourteen and you were so nervous around Adrien you could barely say a word. You’re scared to take the next step. I get it. You’re scared to mess things up.” Alya grabbed Marinette’s hands. “It’s okay. I’m going to help you! By this time tomorrow, you and Adrien will definitely be dating.”

“What – that’s not –” Marinette sputtered.

Alya spoke over her. “You don’t have to thank me! I just want you guys to be happy and I’m gonna make it happen no matter what it takes!” She punctuated that statement with a quick hug, then pulled the cooler out of the trunk and started up one of the paths. Marinette watched her go, open-mouthed.

“Mari? You okay?” Nino said as he and Adrien returned.

“Uh,” Marinette said blankly.

Nino looked at her curiously. “Where did Alya go?”

“Up there,” Marinette said, pointing.

“Oh good. That’s the way to our campsite. Let’s catch up!” Nino picked up his bag and the picnic basket and headed after Alya.

Adrien touched her arm. “You okay?”

“I told Alya that you and I just want to be friends right now. From that, she got that I was scared to take the next step with you and said that she was going to help us. Apparently, by this time tomorrow, we’ll be dating.” Marinette sighed and dropped Adrien’s bag into his arms so that she could grab a sleeping bag.

“Wow, how long were Nino and I gone for?” Adrien said, blinking.

“Too long,” Marinette muttered, frustrated. Alya really was just trying to help. But it was frustrating that she wasn’t really listening to what Marinette and Adrien wanted. Or maybe she thought that they didn’t really know what they wanted? 

“Hey. It’ll be fine,” Adrien said gently. “Judging by the sleeping bags, I’m guessing we’re sharing a tent.”

“You would be correct,” Marinette said.

“I’m not gonna lie. I’m totally tempted to ask if you we can sleep naked just so that Alya can come in and wake us up tomorrow and see us that way,” Adrien said.

Marinette pictured Alya’s reaction and snickered. “Not naked. That bod’s just for me,” she said, gesturing to him. “But I am totally down for sleeping in our underwear.” After all, with some of the akuma they’d dealt with, Adrien had seen her naked before and vice versa. Marinette had discovered a long time ago that Ladybug and Chat Noir didn’t get to have much in the way of personal boundaries when you had a butterfly megalomaniac who could imbue any idiot with magical powers running around.

Adrien gave an evil smirk. “Works for me. Let’s set our alarms a little early tomorrow. I bet we can strategically place the blanket so that we _look_ naked.”

Marinette smirked back. “How about we say we stripped down because it was too hot?”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead! I just went back to work after vacation and... yeah.

When she and Adrien got to the campsite, Alya and Nino were already setting up their tent to the left of the fire pit. Marinette looked around and then walked to opposite. She set the tent down and examined the instructions for a moment, which turned out to be pretty simple. In less than ten minutes, she had the tent up and Adrien was crawling inside to arrange their bedding to his liking.

Marinette knew better than to offer to help; he was such a cat, and that meant he liked everything _just so_. So she crouched down and watched, smiling, as he spread the sleeping back across the ground and then fussed around with the blanket, putting out their blankets and setting their bags on either side – keeping in mind that he liked to sleep on the left and she liked being on the right, of course.

“So, what do you guys wanna do first?” Alya said, clapping her hands together. “We could go hiking or swimming… I don’t think I’m ready for lunch yet.”

“Me either,” Adrien said, poking his head out of the tent. “Are there trails here?”

“Babe, pass me the map,” Alya said. Nino brought it over. Marinette and Adrien joined them, and they all stood for a moment, staring down at the map, before Marinette smiled.

“Look, they have tubing!” she said, jabbing a finger at the map. “And the entry point is only a couple of hours away. All told, it’ll probably take four or five hours. By the time we make it back, we can have an early supper and then toast our marshmallows later tonight!”

Alya and Nino both smiled too. “Good plan, Mari,” Nino said. “That sounds like tons of fun.”

“What’s tubing?” Adrien wanted to know. They all looked at him for a moment with various expressions of pity, and then Nino sighed and clapped a hand on Adrien’s shoulder.

“Sometimes I forget how little of the world you’ve experienced,” he said, which earned him a snort and rolled eyes from Adrien. “Basically, you pay to rent an inner tube, sit on it, and float down the river. The current pushes you along. When you get to the other end, you give your inner tube back. It’s really relaxing and fun.”

“And according to the map, the exit point is right near our campsite. Let’s do it!” Alya said. “Last one to change into their suit cooks supper tonight!” She darted back to the tent.

Not to be outdone, Marinette dove into her tent. Adrien quickly followed, sliding the flap shut behind them. Marinette turned her back, quickly removing her clothing. She stuffed everything into her bag and pulled out her bikini. Both the bottom and top were blue with a print of little black cats. She tied on her top, hauled on the bottoms, and practically tripped right into her partner in their rush to make it outside.

“We win!” Adrien yelled triumphantly, planting one foot in the dirt to avoid faceplanting. He grabbed Marinette around the waist to keep her from falling, letting her dangle from his arms. 

“Damn it!” Alya screeched. “I can’t get my top tied shut.”

“That’s what you get for having such big boobs,” Marinette stage whispered.

“What was that, Dupain-Cheng?!”

“Noooothing,” Marinette sang innocently as Adrien helped her to stand up. Normally she wished she was a little more filled out in the chest area, but in this case, she was perfectly content.

The tent flap to Nino’s and Alya’s tent twitched, and then Nino crawled out. He was wearing bright green swimming trunks and smirking. “I happen to like those big boobs, thank you very much.”

“More than I wanted to know, Nino,” Adrien said, sighing.

Alya followed a moment late, sulking in a burnt orange tankini and tying her hair up. The tankini left most of her stomach bare but covered her ribs; it compensated for that by having a triangle cut-out over the bottom of her breasts, showing off the shadows of some curves that Nino was happily eyeing up. She stuck her tongue out at Marinette but conceded her defeat.

“Fine. Nino and I will cook supper tonight.”

“ _Nino and I_?” Nino echoed. “I’m sorry, but I’m pretty sure _you_ were the last one out.”

Alya’s mouth dropped open in outrage. “What?!”

“Well, I mean, you said the last person.” Nino shrugged. “That was you.”

“That’s – that’s – ” Alya sputtered for a moment before she recovered, putting her hands on her hips. “Listen, Lahiffe, if you want access to _these_ tonight –” She gestured to her breasts, and Marinette rolled her eyes as both Adrien and Nino looked on appreciatively “ – then you’re going to help me cook supper!”

“Okay,” Nino said immediately.

“Dude, you could’ve pretended to hold out for like ten seconds,” Adrien said.

Nino shook his head. “Adrien my boy, when you’re as well versed in the wonder and amazement that is boobs as I am, you will understand.”

“Right,” Adrien said, rolling his eyes again. He turned to Marinette like he was going to say something, then paused. Marinette grinned at him as she watched him take in her bikini for the first time. It was pretty standard cut-wise, nothing too scandalous - though, if she did say so herself, it made the most of what few curves she did possess – but she knew he would notice and appreciate the black cat print for what it meant.

“Pretty cute, huh?” she said.

“Yeah… cute…” Adrien said hollowly, still staring. 

“I dunno, Nino, Adrien may get better acquainted with that wonder and amazement faster than you think,” Alya said smugly, not even bothering to try and be subtle.

Adrien flushed, recovering quickly. “Hey, I can’t help it if Marinette looks sexy in a bikini.”

“Can’t argue with you there,” Nino said, giving Marinette a quick onceover. “But Alya also looks sexy.”

“Of course she does!” Adrien agreed.

Alya looked back and forth between the two boys. “I’ve changed my mind. Marinette, let’s go tubing alone.”

Marinette shrugged. “Okay.”

“Hey!” Both boys whined together.

Biting her lip to hold back a grin, Marinette left them to Alya’s less-than-tender mercies and crawled back into their tent to get better hair ties. She re-tied her pigtails, grabbed both hers and Adrien’s towels, and Adrien’s bottle of SPF 100 sunscreen. He’d get in trouble if he went back to Paris with anything even approaching a tan. She wrapped her towel around her neck, giving Tikki a place to hide, and went back outside.

“Good news. Adrien and Nino have agreed to cook supper,” Alya said with a sunny smile.

“How did that happen?” Adrien whispered to Nino.

Nino shrugged. “You know… I’m not really sure.”

“Great,” Marinette said. “Adrien, here’s your sunscreen.”

“Oh, thanks,” Adrien said, taking it from her.

Alya zeroed in on the bottle. “You’re gonna need help with that, right, Adrien? Marinette, you should totally help him!” She winked at Marinette, who gave Alya her best stone-cold look in response.

Adrien, however, merely smiled. “Excellent idea, Alya. Marinette was so thorough last time. She made sure to get sunscreen _everywhere_.”

Nino’s mouth fell open. Alya choked on her own saliva.

Still smiling innocently, Adrien turned to Marinette and held the bottle back out. “Marinette, could you help me get sunscreen _all over_? I need to make sure I’m covered _head to toe_.”

“Sure,” Marinette said. “Anything to be helpful. You don’t mind waiting, do you?” She didn’t give Alya and Nino a chance to respond, just crouched down and follow Adrien back into the tent. She let the flap fall across the entrance and promptly grabbed her pillow so that at least she’d have something to try and muffle her hysterical laughter with.


	6. Chapter 6

“You know what we should do?” Adrien whispered once he’d gotten his laughter under control.

“What?” Marinette said, letting the pillow fall from her face. Her eyes were bright with amusement and Adrien felt a wave of affection. He loved that they could have this between them now as civilians, instead of having to wait for times when they were both transformed.

“You should re-tie your bikini top. Then we can tell Alya that you decided you needed sunscreen all over too,” Adrien told her, smirking.

Marinette snickered. “I like it. Here, you do it and make sure you tie it differently enough she’ll notice.” She shifted around until her back was to him. Adrien pulled around the strings until they came undone, then re-tied them using a knot instead of a bow like Marinette had originally done.

“Okay, got it,” he whispered in her ear.

“Alya’s gonna freak,” Marinette said gleefully. “Let’s wait another minute or two before we go. Do you have everything you need?”

Adrien didn’t. He took the time to dig out his towel and a pair of comfortable shoes, since they’d be walking to the site. And then he really did make sure to put on some sunscreen. Marinette helped by rubbing it on his back. She paused when her fingers trailed down, then touched his lower back and giggled.

“I should leave a streak right here going under your suit,” she said, tracing along where his bathing suit rested on his hips.

“Do it!” Adrien said, grinning, and held still as she lowered the hem of his shorts an inch or two and smeared more sunscreen on.

“Okay, leave your shorts a bit down like that until Alya sees,” she instructed.

“Got it. Let me do you and then we’ll go,” Adrien said. He took the sunscreen and rubbed some on Marinette’s back and shoulders; while she covered the rest of herself, he arranged the towel around his neck to Plagg’s satisfaction.

Then he gave Marinette a nod, reached out, and pushed the flap of the tent open without warning.

Alya practically levitated backwards from where she’d clearly been eavesdropping. “Oh! You’re ready!” she exclaimed.

“Yup,” Adrien said cheerfully, crawling out. Marinette followed. Alya scrutinized the both of them as they stood up, and Adrien could pinpoint the moment Alya realized that Marinette’s top had been re-tied because her eyes bugged out.

“Hey Dude, you got some sunscreen there,” Nino said helpfully, gesturing.

Adrien turned helpfully. “Oh, here?” he asked innocently, pointing to his lower back as best he could. Alya stared at the spot in disbelief.

“I missed a spot. Allow me,” Marinette said. She put her hand on his hip and rubbed in the sunscreen. Alya choked a bit this time as Marientte finished and pulled his swimming trunks back up.

It looked like Nino was trying not to smile when he said, “Should we go? We don’t wanna be too late coming back.”

“Sure!” Marinette chirped, hooking her arm through Alya’s. Nino secured everything and then he and Adrien followed the girls up the trail.

After about ten minutes of walking, Nino leaned over to Adrien and whispered, “Be honest. You guys are purposely messing with Alya, aren’t you?”

“What makes you think that?” Adrien asked.

Nino shot him a look. “Because I’m not blind?”

Adrien shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he lied.

“Sure you don’t,” Nino said, shaking his head. “It’s fine. I’m not calling you out or anything. Alya’s smart enough to catch on if she wants to, but I think she likes the puzzle of trying to get you two together.”

That certainly sounded like Alya. “Marinette and I are happy as friends,” Adrien repeated.

“I know you are. There’s nothing wrong with that,” Nino said. “And I have to admit, it is kind of funny to watch her die inside whenever you two pull something.”

“Isn’t it?” Adrien said, grinning.

Nino shook his head. “Just don’t do it again while she’s driving.”

“Hey, that was Alya’s fault, not mine. I can’t help it when she hands me such perfect opportunities!”

“Fair,” Nino said. He smirked. “You should’ve _seen_ her face after you two went back into the tent. That’s what gave you away, by the way.”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t need sunscreen all over,” Nino pointed out. “It’s not like you’d dare sunbathe naked, just in case there were fans with cameras around… and your dad wouldn’t let you model in anything that made sun lines in certain areas obvious anyway.”

Adrien considered that, then shrugged. “Point.”

“So I figured you were doing it to get a rise out of Alya,” Nino concluded. “Re-tying Marinette’s top was a nice touch, by the way.”

“Thanks. It was my idea,” Adrien said shamelessly.

“Marinette didn’t really let you… you know…” Nino gestured to his chest.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Adrien said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Nino stared at him for a moment, like he genuinely wasn’t sure if Adrien was being facetious or not. Adrien merely smiled back. He honestly didn’t know it Marinette would’ve let him rub sunscreen on her chest, but frankly it wasn’t any of Nino’s business either way.

“Come on, slowpokes!” Alya shouted.

Adrien looked up, realizing that the girls had gotten several feet ahead of them. He broke into a jog and Nino followed, and shortly they reached the top of the little hill. Marinette smiled and reached out, sliding her hand into Adrien’s and intertwining their fingers.

“You okay? You looked pretty serious,” Marinette said.

“All good,” Adrien said. He’d tell her about his conversation with Nino later, when Alya wasn’t around to overhear - though he thought that Nino was probably right when he said that Alya was enjoying this, so it was possible Alya would’ve just ignored them.

Marinette accepted that as an answer, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Adrien smiled. Just because he could, he leaned over and kissed Marinette’s cheek. He lingered there, inhaling the scent of her hair, and she giggled and put a finger on his nose to push him back a bit. Adrien grinned at her even as he crossed his eyes to see her finger.

“Silly,” she said.

“This was a _terrible_ idea. I had to leave my phone back at the tent and now I can’t even take cute pictures,” Alya moaned.

Adrien pulled back fully. “Your phone isn’t waterproof though, right?”

Alya sighed. “No. Those models are way more expensive.”

“Maybe for Christmas,” Nino said, patting her shoulder.

“Unlikely. My mom said she’s not buying me anything that serves as an enticement for me to go after more akumas,” Alya said, rolling her eyes. “She says if my phone is waterproof, I’ll go after weather and water akumas instead of keeping my distance like I have to do now.”

Adrien actually didn’t disagree with that. He could tell that Marinette didn’t either.

“Maybe a telephoto lens,” Nino said diplomatically. “Let’s keep going.”

Marinette squeezed Adrien’s hand and he shot her a wink. He loved holding Marinette’s hand. She held on just tight enough, but not so right that it was uncomfortable. He couldn’t resist lifting their joined hands and pressing a quick kiss to the back of her knuckles. In response, she rolled her eyes playfully and pulled him along.


	7. Chapter 7

When they got to the launch location, a staff member greeted them. They all paid their deposit and then were directed towards the riverbank. Marinette smiled to herself when she saw the anticipatory sparkle in Adrien’s eyes. He’d never done anything like this before and he was squeezing her hand tightly in excitement.

“Hey, do you have any of the double tubes left?” Alya asked.

The staff member shook his head. “Sorry, we’re fresh out. They might bring more, but it’ll probably be - oh, another hour or so I’d say.”

“What’s a double tube?” Adrien asked.

“The tubes are linked together,” Marinette explained. “Alya, I’d rather not wait. Let’s just get four separate ones.” She wiped her forehead. After the hot walk, she couldn’t wait to get out on the water.

“Okay,” Alya said, looking a little disappointed. She went first; the staff member held the tube steady for her while she backed into it and sank down, letting out a yelp as her butt made contact with the water.

“Cold?” Nino asked.

“Yeah, but it’s not bad. Feels good, actually,” Alya said, wiggling to get comfortable. “I’m ready!”

The staff member let go and she floated towards the middle of the river. Nino followed, then Adrien, then lastly Marinette. She bit her lip in surprise as she realized the water really was cold, but like Alya said it didn’t feel bad. Their walk up had left them all hot and sticky, and as Marinette drifted after her friends she discovered there was a pleasant breeze out on the river.

“This is fun!” Tikki whispered in Marinette’s ear.

“Isn’t it? It’s so peaceful,” Marinette said, closing her eyes. The sunlight was warm on her face, chest, midsection, arms and legs. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been able to enjoy it, but it felt like forever. Alya has been right to insist on this trip, and she was glad that Chat and Tikki had talked her into coming. It was _so nice_ to just relax and let go for once without having to worry about her responsibilities.

Her tube bumped against something and she cracked an eye open. Adrien grinned at her and held out a hand. Marinette took it, and he turned his tube until their heads were close together - not touching, but close enough that they could easily talk. Then he took her other hand too, laying their joined hands on the tubes above their heads and preventing them from drifting apart.

“Plagg’s not happy,” he whispered.

Marinette snickered. “Too much water?”

“It’s disgusting,” Plagg grumbled, poking his head up. He was hidden from view, safe between Marinette’s head and Adrien’s head.

“Oh, Plagg. A little water won’t kill you,” said Tikki.

“You don’t know that! I could melt!” Plagg said.

“Hasn’t happened yet,” Tikki muttered, sounding momentarily wistful, and Marinette giggled.

“You won’t have to get wet, Plagg,” Marinette said. “We just float all the way to the end.”

“Hmm,” Plagg said in a way that meant he wasn’t convinced, but didn’t want to press the argument because he was hoping she was right.

As it turned out, Marinette was wrong.

She and Adrien had been chatting quietly for several minutes when they heard Alya shriek. Both of them bolted upright, immediately thinking that an akuma had somehow found its way to them, but all they saw was two empty inner tubes. Then Nino surfaced from beneath Alya’s tube, cackling like a madman, followed by a considerably more annoyed Alya.

“You asshole!” she cried, lifting her water streaked glasses and shaking them in vain.

Nino laughed harder. “That’s revenge for making Adrien and me cook dinner tonight,” he teased, quickly swimming out of reach.

Alya made a sound like an angry cat. “You are so sleeping outside tonight.”

Adrien made the mistake of laughing, and Alya’s glare instantly turned in his direction. Too late, Adrien’s mirth vanished, replaced by a look of panic. He let go of Marinette in favor of desperately trying to paddle away, but Alya was a pretty strong swimmer when she wanted to be. Within seconds, she’d caught up, grabbed the bottom of the tube, and tilted Adrien into the river.

Tikki burst into giggles. Marinette clapped a hand over her mouth.

“That’s what you get for laughing!” Alya said, smirking as Adrien surfaced.

“Rude!” Adrien said, but he was still grinning. He was, of course, soaked, which meant Plagg was too. Marinette could just imagine the earful Adrien was getting right now, though luckily Plagg was keeping his voice down.

“So much for not getting wet!” Marinette called out. “How’s the water?”

“Why don’t you find out too?” Adrien said, turning in her direction.

Marinette’s eyes widened. “No! Don’t you dare!” She squealed as he swam towards her. “Adrien Agreste, I’m _warning you_ -”

She never got to finish her threat; Adrien grabbed her tube and flipped her over. Marinette hit the river with a surprised gasp. It wasn’t as cold as she’d been expecting, but the dunking still wasn’t pleasant. She surfaced unable to see a damn thing; her hair had come out of her pigtails and her ties were probably downstream by now, so she had to shove her hair out of her face before she could glare at him.

“Just for that, our wedding cake is going to be pineapple,” she hissed.

Adrien got in her face, grinning mischievously, and cooed, “Don’t think so. Your parents will be making our cake and they love me more than you.” He darted forward, lightning quick, and kissed the tip of her nose before quickly swimming away.

“Stupid cat,” Marinette muttered, wrinkling her nose; she couldn’t say much because it was true, damn him, and her maman and papa would bend over backwards to make him whatever flavor cake his heart desired.

“Did you say wedding cake?!” Alya said, clutching her chest.

“At this rate there isn’t going to _be_ a wedding,” Marinette said sourly, swimming back over to her tube. She looped an arm over it to keep it from floating away, and to give herself a break from treading water.

“There has to be a wedding! I need to be my bro’s best man!” Nino exclaimed.

Adrien, Marinette and Alya all looked at him. He was floating smugly on his tube. The three of them shared a look and came to the same conclusion simultaneously. One person had started all this, and that one person was the only one who hadn’t been dunked. That needed to be rectified immediately.

Nino’s eyes widened with panic when he saw them approaching. “Uh, Dudes, what are you doing?”

“Payback!” Marinette, Alya and Adrien chorused, reaching him st the same time. They all flipped his tube, sending Nino into the river with a yelp.

“I’ve been betrayed!” he exclaimed as he surfaced, but he was laughing.

Marinette retrieved her tube again and clumsily flailed around for a couple of minutes until she had managed to get back up on top of it. She caught Adrien watching her, still with that spark of mischief, and pointed a stern finger at him.

“Once was enough. Do it again and I’ll make sure that Lila is invited to our wedding.”

Adrien’s expression of horror was perfect. “You wouldn’t.”

“Try me,” Marinette challenged.

He pouted.

“Seriously, what wedding?!” Alya shouted. “What did I miss?!”

“Nothing,” Marinette and Adrien said together, not breaking their eye contact.

“So… are you dating now?” Nino called out, sounding equally confused.

“No,” Marinette and Adrien said together.

“But you said wedding!” Alya exclaimed, looking ready to pull her hair out.

“You misheard,” Marinette said, narrowing her eyes.

Adrien finally cracked, deepening his pout but looking away to concede her win. “Yeah, Alya. Marinette and I are just friends.”

Alya looked back and forth between them. “What - but Marinette said -!”

“Marinette says a lot of things,” Adrien muttered.

“I heard that,” Marinette said, settling back onto the tube. She could hear Tikki snickering under the wet towel and smirked. There was no doubt in her mind that the threat wouldn’t last long, and doubtlessly she’d get flipped again before they got to the dismount location, but at least she’d earned herself a temporary reprieve.


	8. Chapter 8

Needless to say, all four of them were soaked by the time they made it to the pick-up location. Marinette’s sandals squelched unpleasantly as she stepped onto the rock and she grimaced at the feeling, hoping that they would dry quickly.

Adrien was the next out; he came to stand beside her, wincing, and said, “Could you please pull my towel off my neck” in a very strained voice.

Baffled, Marinette did as he asked. She only understood why when she pulled the towel away and saw that Plagg had his claws in Adrien’s shoulder. The little kwami, just as soaked as the rest of them, growled at her. Marinette sighed, smiling sympathetically, and gently pried Plagg off of Adrien.

“Hold this,” she said, taking her own towel - and Tikki - off of her neck and passing it over. Then she tucked Plagg under her arm and set off for the bathrooms. 

Miraculously, they were empty. Marinette grabbed a few paper towels and started patting Plagg down, soaking up as much extra water as she could. Then, when Plagg’s fur felt more damp than water-logged, she gently scooped him up, hit the button for the hot air hand dryer, and held him underneath it.

“Better?” she asked loudly.

“It’s a start,” Plagg said begrudgingly; she couldn’t hear it over the sound of the dryer, but she could tell from the vibrations of his body that he was purring.

“I am sorry you got wet, Plagg. Adrien is too. We should’ve let you and Tikki stay back at the tent.”

“And then what would you have done if an akuma came?” Plagg said, opening an eye to stare at her.

“True,” Marinette said, though she thought - hoped - the chances of an akuma up here were slim to none. Maybe next time, if there was a next time, Plagg and Tikki could hide in the trees that bordered the river and follow them.

She must have hit the button to restart the dryer a good six times before Plagg declared himself appropriately dried. He was a cute little ball of fluff now, with fur so soft that Marinette just wanted to pet him forever, but she knew better than to push her luck.

“We’re going back to the tent now. Why don’t you fly back and meet us there?” she said, gesturing to the window above them.

“Will I get cheese?” Plagg said.

“Yes,” Marinette promised. 

“Fine.” Plagg jumped off her hands and flew up to the window, phasing through outside.

Marinette left the bathroom and almost immediately ran into Alya, who was standing outside and looking concerned.

“Girl, where have you been? We thought you got lost!” Alya said.

“Um, sorry. My stomach was a bit upset,” Marinette lied, linking her arm through Alya’s. “Where are the guys?”

“They headed back to the camp to start cooking supper. I said I would wait for you,” Alya replied. She narrowed her eyes. “So… wedding, huh?”

Shit. Marinette pasted on her best innocent expression. “Adrien and I were just joking around, Alya. None of that meant anything.”

“Riiiight,” Alya said slowly. “You were just… joking. About your _wedding_. With _Adrien_.”

“Yup,” Marinette said, pretending not to notice the look of total disbelief on Alya’s face. Bringing up the wedding had been a mistake, but Marinette didn’t regret it. She just wished that Alya hadn’t been close enough to hear.

“You’re kind of blowing my theory that you’re too shy to tell Adrien about your crush out of the water,” Alya said.

“Good,” Marinette said. “Does this mean you’re giving up on trying to get me and Adrien together?”

“Nope. Clearly, the two of you are in denial about your feelings. You need my help to push past the veil of jokes and into the realization that you love each other!” Alya declared.

Marinette stopped short and stared.

“Don’t worry, Mari. I’m going to figure this out,” Alya said passionately, grabbing Marinette’s hands and squeezing them. Then she flounced up the path, cackling to herself.

“ _That_ is a serious level of denial,” Plagg said, landing on Marinette’s shoulder.

“It’s like I talk and she hears something completely different,” Marinette said, putting her hands on her hips. “I _am_ speaking French, right?”

“I would say yes, but I can speak pretty much every language out there, sooo…” Plagg shrugged.

“Maybe I should have you teach me the words ‘Adrien and I are happy as friends’ in another language. That might be the thing to get through to her.”

Plagg snorted at that. “Don’t hold your breath, Pigtails. Now move. I was promised cheese!”

Marinette sighed and resumed walking. As they grew closer to the campsite, Plagg darted into the bushes just in time to avoid being seen by Adrien and Nino as they looked up and waved in greeting. Both of them had already dried off and changed - too bad. She and Adrien probably could’ve turned Alya’s face purple by offering to help each other ‘dry off’.

“Alya walked in muttering something about helping us out of denial,” Adrien said. “What did you say to her?”

“I told her we were just joking about our wedding. Now she thinks that we’re in denial about our feelings and is determined to help us through that,” Marinette said.

“How long are you two going to keep messing with her?” Nino wanted to know.

Marinette blinked at him, then looked at Adrien.

“Yeah, Nino knows,” Adrien said. 

“Okay,” Marinette said, deciding not to ask. “Look, Nino. I’ve tried to tell Alya a bunch of times that Adrien and I are happy as friends. I really have. But she’s the one who keeps insisting that there’s more to it. What else are we supposed to do?”

“You could try _not_ messing with her,” Nino said.

“That’s no fun,” Adrien said with a smirk, and Marinette just knew he was thinking about their plan for tomorrow morning. She tried not to smile.

Nino looked between them and then shook his head. “I could ask, but honestly for the sake of my sanity, I don’t want to know. You’re right, Marinette. I guess I can’t blame you when Alya is making it so easy. Everything you guys do just adds to her fantasy of you two being together. But, uh, maybe cool it on the wedding talk.”

“Noted,” Marinette said.

“Frankly, I don’t get why you guys were joking about weddings anyway,” Nino said. “It almost sounded like you were serious.” He bent over the fire.

Over his head, Marinette and Adrien exchanged a look.

“Yeah, almost,” Adrien said, biting his lip to hold back a laugh.

Marinette winked at him and went to get changed, snagging a piece of cheese for Plagg as she passed the cooler.


	9. Chapter 9

“Ugh, that was so gooooood!” Alya moaned, clutching her belly. “I’m so full!”

“Food cooked over a campfire always tastes better,” Nino said, straightening his cap. “It’s a proven fact.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not true,” Marinette said, amused. She leaned back and groped around until she found the bag of marshmallows, the pulled it into her lap. Three pairs of eyes watched her with greedy intent as she picked up one of the rods her maman had packed for them. Pretending that she didn’t notice the stares, Marinette whistled softly as she extended her marshmallow over the fire.

“Gonna share?” Adrien asked pointedly, and when she glanced up, he had the kitty eyes out in full effect. 

“I suppose,” Marinette said, passing the bag and three more rods over. Adrien took a marshmallow for himself and stuck it on the end of the rod, then poked it into the fire.

Alya and Nino were preoccupied getting their own marshmallows ready, but Marinette frowned. She opened her mouth to tell Adrien that he was holding his marshmallow _way_ too close to the center of the fire when his marshmallow promptly fell off the rod and into the heart of the fire. Adrien gave a horrified exclamation and came within a hair of diving in after it; she threw her arm out just in time to stop him.

“My marshmallow!” Adrien wailed, which made Alya and Nino look up.

“Tough luck, Dude,” Nino said sympathetically. “Want another?”

“Yes,” Adrien said, with all the intent of someone who has been grievously wronged, and grabbed the bag back from Nino.

Four marshmallows later, Alya was trying not to laugh, Nino was shaking his head, and Adrien was close to tears. He’d lost three more to the fire and the fourth was currently a smoking, charred mess on the end of his rod. He pulled it away from the fire and brought it close to his face, looking at it with such a mournful expression that Marinette’s heart twisted.

“Do you want me to do one for you?” she asked gently. Her marshmallow had been perfect, lightly browned on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside. She licked her lips, tasting the remnants, and was fully expecting Adrien to accept her offer, but he shook his head.

“Thanks, but I want to do it myself. I just don’t know what I’m doing wrong,” Adrien said. “I’ve never done this before…” 

He sounded so sad, and Marinette started to feel guilty as she realized that this wasn’t just about losing a treat. Adrien always got upset when everyone else knew how to do something and he didn’t, especially when it was something that most kids would already know how to do or which would be considered common sense. He hated being reminded of the fact that he had missed out on so much by having such a restrictive childhood.

She set her pole down and stood up, moving to sit beside him – the benches were small, but there was enough room for both of them if they squeezed. Adrien blinked at her as she took another marshmallow out of the bag and held it out. Slowly, he took the marshmallow and speared it on the end of the rod. Marinette smiled at him and wrapped her arms around him.

“Like this,” she said softly in his ear, putting her hands over his.

Together, they moved the rod forward. Adrien’s instinct still seemed to be to aim for where the flames would cook the marshmallow to a crisp; Marinette corrected him with subtle pressure, holding the marshmallow at just the right angle so that the flames licked at the surface. 

“Watch it,” she whispered. “Don’t take your eyes away for even a second. That’s all it takes for them to go from just right to burnt mess.”

“Okay,” Adrien said determinedly. That made Marinette smile, and she couldn’t resist hooking her chin over his shoulder. She let go of his hands, instead settling her arms around his waist.

“Now!” she said, and Adrien quickly pulled the rod back.

“I did it!” he exclaimed, looking at the lightly browned marshmallow with such happiness that Marinette wished they could bottle it. If everyone in Paris could get regular doses of that, Hawkmoth would be out of business.

“You did it,” she agreed, smiling even wider. “Now’s the best part. Eat it!”

He grinned and obeyed, sinking his teeth into the gooey marshmallow. In his enthusiasm, he ended up with a glob of white fluff on the tip of his nose. Marinette couldn’t help laughing as she lifted one of her hands and wiped the marshmallow away with her thumb. Adrien chuckled too, setting his clean hand on her waist and leaning further into her.

A strangled sound to her right made her turn, belatedly remembering that they weren’t alone and that their friends were there too. Alya was staring at them with a frankly disbelieving expression. Nino was now the one trying not to laugh. It took Marinette much longer than it should have to realize just how intimately she and Adrien were behaving. There was literally no space between them right now and it was driving Alya crazy.

What a golden opportunity.

“Think you can do the next one on your own?” Marinette asked, turning back to Adrien. He knew what she was thinking, of course. His eyes were twinkling with mischief.

“I dunno, Mari. The only reason I did it right was because you were here. I’d hate to lose anymore marshmallows,” Adrien said. “I think you should help me again.”

“Well, if you insist,” Marinette said.

Nino cleared his throat. “Actually, we brought stuff for smores,” he pointed out, rummaging around until he pulled out a couple chocolate bars and graham crackers.

“I’ve never had a smore either,” Adrien said, momentarily distracted.

“Oh! Then let’s get you one right away. Better let me do them,” Marinette said cheerfully. “Not much room to manoeuvre though, is there? I need space. I better move.” She stood up –

And then sat down in Adrien’s lap.

Alya started coughing like crazy. Even Nino looked surprised. Adrien was shaking with the effort of trying not to laugh; it was his turn to wind his arms around Marinette’s waist as Marinette put two marshmallows on the end the rod.

“M-Marinette,” Alya sputtered out finally. “Do you think that’s appropriate?”

“What?” Marinette asked, all wide eyed innocence.

“You’re _sitting_ on Adrien’s _lap_ ,” Alya said.

“I’m closer to the fire this way,” Marinette said. “And Adrien doesn’t mind, right?”

“Not at all. My best friend can sit on me anytime,” Adrien said. His control gave way slightly, and Marinette heard a wobble in his voice that belied his desperate bid not to laugh. She herself had to turn away from Alya’s flabbergasted expression and focus on the marshmallows.


	10. Chapter 10

When they were all finished with the smores, and everything had been mostly been tidied up, Nino and Adrien dealt with putting the fire out while Marinette and Alya took their things and walked back to the bathrooms. Marinette could tell that Alya was just vibrating with the need to get her alone, and sure enough, as soon as Alya deemed them to be out of hearing, she turned to Marinette. 

“You know that best friends don’t typically sit on each other, right?” she said seriously.

“Of course I do,” Marinette said, trying to keep a straight face.

Alya breathed a sigh of relief at that. “Good, I was starting to wonder! So you know, then, what it means that Adrien is so willing to let you sit in his lap?”

Marinette nodded confidently. “It means that Adrien was homeschooled and has a totally different idea of what constitutes normal,” she said, which wasn’t technically a lie. That, plus the fact that Adrien was touch starved, meant he was much more inclined to physical affection than most people were. The way he was always touching people’s shoulders or hugging used to drive Marinette _wild_ before she put two and two together.

“I – no,” Alya said, shaking her head. “No, Marinette, that’s not what it means at all. What do you think Adrien would do if Nino tried to sit on him?”

“Nino did that as a joke three weeks ago. Adrien grabbed him and cuddled him for twenty minutes,” Marinette said.

Alya opened her mouth and then closed it, clearly remembering the moment as well as Marinette did. The look of first panic, then resignation on Nino’s face had been hilarious at the time. It had taken Marinette distracting Adrien with a cookie to get him to let go of Nino. 

“Okay, point,” Alya concluded. “But still. It’s not the same thing at all!”

“I think it is,” Marinette lied, quickening her pace as they approached the bathrooms. She slipped inside and practically ran to one of the stalls, but Alya wasn’t about to give up that easily.

“It’s not!” Alya said again, following. “He was so happy to be in contact with you! He would’ve let you sit there all night if you hadn’t had to move to put the smores together.”

That was actually true. Marinette began to strip off her clothes and replied, “I’m sure he would’ve kept Nino there all day. Alya, I’m telling you. There is nothing between me and Adrien. I wish you’d just learn to accept that.”

“Why are you so in denial?” Alya practically wailed.

Marinette sighed and pulled on her pajama top. “Have you considered that maybe we’re not the ones in denial, and that maybe you are?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Alya said. 

Her pajama bottoms followed, and then Marinette opened the stall door to fix her best friend with a firm look. “I’ve told you before Adrien and I are just friends. I know that you really, really want us to be more. But we’re not.”

Again, Alya opened her mouth. This time, Marinette stopped her with a raised hand.

“I also know I had a crush on Adrien,” she said. “A really bad crush, and I have to think you for putting up with me all those months… I’m sure it wasn’t easy. But that was then. This is now. We’re not in denial. I promise you, we’re not. We’re just –”

Maddeningly, the bathroom doors swung open and a whole host of people trooped in. Alya scurried into a stall before they were all taken, and Marinette supressed a scream of frustration as she shut the door. For once, it seemed like Alya had actually been listening. Of course they’d been interrupted before Marinette could finish. _Of course_. So much for that Ladybug luck Chat was always talking about.

She finished doing what she needed to do, gathered her clothes up, and washed her hands. Then she paused outside Alya’s stall. “I’m heading back. Do you want me to wait for you?”

“No, I need to go shower or my hair will be a mess from the river water come morning. Go ahead,” Alya replied.

“Okay.” Marinette hesitated but eventually obeyed, stepping outside. She hung her head as she meandered back towards the campsite. As much fun as it was teasing Alya, she was starting to get tired of this. Tomorrow morning, she was going to have to figure out some way to get it through Alya’s head once and for all that Alya needed to let Marinette and Adrien do this at their own pace.

“Are you okay, Marinette?” Tikki asked, poking her head out of Marinette’s purse. In the darkness, the only thing Marinette could make out was Tikki’s bright blue eyes.

“I’m fine, Tikki,” Marinette said, giving Tikki a gentle rub on the head. “I guess in a way, this is all my fault. If I hadn’t been so ridiculous when it came to Adrien in the first place, Alya wouldn’t be having such a hard time with it now.”

Tikki giggled. “You were a little silly,” she admitted. “But you were also just a kid in love. I think that both you and Alya can be forgiven for getting swept away.”

“Yeah, I’m not mad at her. I know Alya just wants me and Adrien to be happy.” Marinette smiled to herself. She was lucky to have a best friend who cared so much! 

“So does that mean you’re going through with your plan for tomorrow morning?” Tikki wanted to know.

Marinette’s smile turned downright evil. “Damn straight.”

She stepped back into the clearing as Tikki hid again and found that both Adrien and Nino were gone. Their toiletries and bags were missing, so she assumed they’d gone to the bathrooms too. Marinette crawled into her tent and put her bag away. She left Tikki with some of the leftover chocolate and marshmallows from the smores and went back outside.

The night sky was amazingly clear in a way that it never was in Paris. Marinette laid down on the ground to watch the stars. When Adrien, Nino, and Alya returned in a group, they joined her. The four of them lay in a circle with their heads at the center, where Adrien proved himself to be a total whiz at astronomy. He was able to point out a handful of constellations without even trying.

“I don’t know how your head hasn’t exploded, considering how much random stuff you know,” Nino said.

Adrien chuckled. “I like knowing random stuff.” He reached out and took Marinette’s hand, lacing their fingers. She squeezed his hand.

“We should’ve brought a telescope,” Marinette said.

“Something to bring next time,” Alya said.

“Next time?” Adrien repeated, sounding startled and pleased, and Alya snorted.

“Yeah, Sunshine, of course. Next time.”


	11. Chapter 11

“Noooo, it’s too earrrrrrly.”

Adrien smiled to himself as he heard Marinette’s discontented mutter and wormed an arm out of the sleeping bag so that he could reach over and shut off his cell phone alarm. He listened for a moment, wondering if the alarm had woken Alya or Nino, but the campsite was quiet around them. 

Which made sense, considering that he’d set his alarm for five minutes before Alya’s was due to go off. They needed time to get themselves appropriately situated before Alya came to wake them up. What Adrien hadn’t considered was just how much Marinette hated waking up early.

Their legs were entangled, as always. When he glanced down at her, she had both her arms wrapped around his left arm and her face smushed into his bicep. She looked so cute that it was almost easy to forget how appallingly grumpy she could be when she woke up before she was ready. Adrien had once joked that Tikki deserved hazard pay, and Tikki had given him thousand-yard stare before muttering that Adrien had no idea.

He decided to give Marinette a couple more minutes. So they laid there quietly, just enjoying the peace, until Adrien heard Alya’s alarm go off.

“Mari, if we want to do this, we have to do it now,” he whispered.

Marinette scrunched her nose up. “Nooooooo.”

“But I thought you wanted to break Alya’s brain?”

“Alya’s brain is already broken; that’s why she’s so weird,” Marinette mumbled, but she cracked open an eye to look at him. 

“If you get up, I’ll buy you a huge coffee on the way home,” Adrien coaxed.

She contemplated that for a moment and then sighed dramatically. “Yeah, okay.”

“Okay,” Adrien said, untangling himself and sitting up. He took off his shirt and pajama bottoms, folding them up and putting them back into his bag. 

Marinette took off her clothes too, leaving her in just her bra and panties. Unlike Adrien, she crammed her clothes back into her bag without bothering to fold them. Adrien rolled his eyes at her and she smirked back.

“No, you go. I’ll wake Mari and Adrien.”

That was Alya!

Adrien quickly lay back down, and Marinette practically jumped on top of him, cuddling up beside him. She yanked the blanket down so that it was very obvious that Adrien wasn’t wearing a shirt. Then, in a move Adrien thought was particularly devious, she slid her bra straps off her shoulders and left the blanket low enough so that the top of her cleavage was visible, straps hidden by the blanket.

“Sleep,” she hissed at him, and closed her eyes. He obediently shut his own eyes and waited.

They didn’t have to wait long.

“ _Oh my god_!”

It was a good thing they weren’t really sleep, as Alya’s yell – she was clearly trying to be quiet but couldn’t quite manage it – would have definitely woken them up. Adrien could feel Marinette’s mouth twitching against his chest as she fought not to smile and had to call upon every ounce of willpower he had developed from spending hours in uncomfortable positions to not smile himself.

“What? What?” Nino called out.

“Shhh!” Alya hissed. There was the scrape of sneakers against the ground, which Adrien assumed meant that Nino was coming closer.

“Alya, why are you – ” Nino cut himself off with a strangled gasp.

“You see this too, right?” Alya said. It was hard to discern the emotions in her voice without seeing her face, but Adrien was pretty sure hysteria had to be one of them.

“Umm… yeah,” Nino said, sounding stunned.

“Marinette and Adrien are cuddling together. Naked.”

“Yeah.”

“Do you think they had sex?” Alya asked, the question so blunt that Adrien had to swallow a shocked giggle.

“What – Alya! I don’t really want to speculate about that!”

“Why not? This is a huge deal, Nino! Maybe it means that they finally got over themselves and confessed! Maybe it means that I finally helped them get together! If they had sex, then –”

“Seriously? These are our friends!”

“Our very hot friends,” Alya pointed out, and Adrien had no trouble imagining the face that Nino pulled at that.

“Alya, _ewwww_ ,” Nino whined.

Marinette giggled.

As soon as Adrien heard that, the laugh that had been building up into his chest escaped and he burst out laughing.

“What!” Alya squeaked. Adrien opened his eyes just in time to see Alya jumping to her feet. Nino, standing behind her, suddenly got a resigned look.

“I’m so glad that you think I’m hot,” Adrien told her with the straightest face he could manage, which just made Marinette laugh even harder.

Alya’s earlier joy was dying away, replaced by bewilderment as she realized that both of them were still wearing underwear. She looked between them, eyebrows furrowed like she had just been asked to solve a really difficult mathematical equation.

“I don’t understand,” she said.

Adrien glanced over at Marinette. She was pulling the straps of her bra back up her shoulder. Their eyes met and silent agreement passed between them. It was time.

“Alya, Marinette and I aren’t dating,” Adrien told her. “We’ve basically been winding you up this whole trip by doing couple-y stuff and pretending that we didn’t know what we were doing when you freaked out.”

Alya’s jaw dropped open. “You’ve what?!”

“We both tried to tell you that we’re not dating,” Marinette reminded her. “But you kept thinking that we were in denial. Well, we’re not. I hope you can accept that now.”

“Marinette and I _might_ start dating someday,” Adrien added. “If or when that happens, you guys will be the first to know. Until it does, we would really appreciate it if you would stop trying to set us up.”

“And stop trying to engineer situations like this,” Marinette said dryly, gesturing to the sole sleeping bag and blanket that they had been afforded.

Alya just looked shell-shocked. “But I thought –”

“I know what you thought, and I know you were trying to help, and we both love you for it. You just have to accept that Adrien and I aren’t in that place right now. We’re not in denial, we’re not afraid to talk about our feelings, we’re not in need of outside help to make it happen. We just really need you to accept that.” Marinette’s voice was gentle but firm, the sort of tone she took with akuma victims when reassuring them that it wasn’t their fault.

“I – right,” Alya said slowly. “I’m sorry.” She still seemed dazed, but Adrien thought that they might have finally got through this time.

“It’s okay.” Marinette leaned over and hugged her.

Nino stared at them thoughtfully. “Suddenly, I see it,” he announced.

“See what?” Adrien asked.

“Alya was right. This _is_ hot.”

Marinette, Alya, and Adrien all stared at him.

Moments later, Nino was yelping and laughing as he rushed away from the tent and the multiple objects being pelted at him.


	12. Chapter 12

As they slowly packed up the campsite, Marinette noticed that Alya kept sneaking looks at her and Adrien. She could tell that Alya wanted to say something, but that she probably didn’t want to say it in front of Adrien and Nino. Adrien must have noticed too, because he took the tent out of Marinette’s hands and smiled at her.

“Nino and I will get a head start on packing the car up if you and Alya can finish up here,” he said.

“Thanks,” Marinette said, shooting him a grateful look. He winked at her in reply and grabbed a few more things, then headed off with an equally loaded-down Nino.

Once they were gone, and Marinette was sure that even Adrien’s accelerated hearing wouldn’t be able to hear anything, she turned to look at her best friend. Alya was bent over, muttering under her breath as she tried to force the second tent back into its container. Marinette walked over and knelt down, adding her weight to the tent so that Alya could zip the container shut.

“Are you mad at me?” Marinette asked bluntly.

“What? No!” Alya said, seemingly surprised by the question. “Well, maybe a little bit. I just feel really dumb. You kept trying to tell me that you and Adrien weren’t dating, and I didn’t want to believe it.”

“I know,” Marinette said. 

“I mean, some journalist I am,” Alya said with a half-hearted smile.

Marinette frowned. “Alya, no. I mean – yeah, okay, you could do better at listening to people when they tell you things. But you were coming at this from the perspective of being our friend, not as a journalist. Frankly, I don’t really want you to be in journalist mode all the time when you’re around us. Friend-Alya is _much_ more fun than Journalist-Alya.”

“Even if Friend-Alya is super oblivious?” Alya asked, sitting back on her heels.

“Even then,” Marinette said, reaching out to give her a hug. 

Alya hugged her back. “I just have to ask – are you _really_ okay with this? I mean really?” she asked, pulling back to look seriously at Marinette. “You were head over heels for Adrien for years. This whole acting like a couple thing doesn’t bother you?”

“It really doesn’t. Cross my heart,” Marinette said, making an X symbol over her chest. “Adrien and I are friends. Sometimes we like to cuddle or get closer to each other than most friends do. You know what his dad is like. Adrien needs that affection, and I am super okay with being the person who gives it to him.”

“That makes sense, I guess,” Alya said slowly. “So… does this mean we can’t double date anymore?”

Marinette laughed. “Not at all! But it does mean that if you set up plans for the four of us, I’d like you and Nino to actually show up,” she said, nudging Alya playfully. She couldn’t even count how many times Alya and Nino had been ‘unexpectedly busy’ so that Marinette and Adrien were left alone doing their own thing.

“I guess we could do that,” Alya said, smiling. “For what it’s worth, I really am sorry that I was being so pushy. I just really want you guys to be happy.”

“We _are_ happy. We’ve talked about it a lot, and we’re both really comfortable with where our relationship is right now. It may look a little strange from the outside, but it’s working for us. I promise you; Adrien and I are on the same page. There’s no pining going on,” Marinette said gently, touched. Alya’s behavior, annoying as it had been, was coming from the right place, at least. She was lucky to have such a good friend, and she reached out to hug Alya again.

“I’m glad,” Alya said. “And just so you know, I am totally going to tell everyone this story at your wedding.”

“Oh god,” Marinette groaned, which just made Alya laugh at her.

“Hey, my wounded pride needs to get something out of this,” Alya said.

“That’s fair. We did troll you a lot,” Marinette said.

“So much,” Alya said, making a face at her. “And… just to check… you guys didn’t really have sex, right?”

“Oh my god, Alya. Of course not!” Marinette said, throwing a water bottle at her.

Alya dodged it, laughing. “Well, I have no idea how far you would go to troll me! Besides, I saw what Adrien’s chest looked like. It’s not like you’d be suffering by taking one for the team.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “If anything, if his lower half looks anything like his upper half, then –”

“ _Do not_ finish that sentence!” Marinette cried. “You pervert!”

Alya just giggled. “So that’s a no.”

“Obviously! We just like, cuddle a lot. He likes to hold hands. That’s it,” Marinette said, blushing a bit.

“And the fact that you know each other’s drink orders?” Alya said, narrowing her eyes.

Marinette shrugged. “We do eat out a lot.”

“Okay. So… that whole thing about Adrien pretending he thought I just wanted you to be best friends on the way up here…”

“He was totally trolling you. Honestly, he’s worse than me,” Marinette said, stifling a laugh just remembering it. “He knew exactly what you were asking.”

“I knew it! That sneaky brat,” Alya said, shaking her fist in the air. “What about the sunscreen? Did he really rub sunscreen all over you?” She stared at Marinette. “Wait, have you seen his dick?”

“Alya!” Marinette practically shouted. 

“What? It’s a valid question!”

Marinette facepalmed. “No, I have not seen his dick. I put sunscreen on myself and so did he. We were just messing with you. And before you ask, the whole sitting on his lap thing meant nothing either. It’s just part of the cuddling thing.”

“Okay… but what about the wedding jokes while we were tubing? What was that?”

“Private joke,” Marinette said. 

Alya narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Really.”

“Yes, really. Don’t you and Nino have tons of private jokes? Even from before you were dating?”

“Well… I guess,” Alya said reluctantly. “We never joked about marriage, though.”

“Adrien and I share a weird sense of humor,” Marinette said with as much dignity as she could muster. 

“I take it that this means the cuddling isn’t going to stop, then,” said Alya.

“Nope.”

“Okay, fine. But I’m going to have to insist that all clothing remains on, and all hands remain above clothing, in my car on the way home.”

“ _Alya_!”

“Because the next time I see Adrien’s upper half with only boxers below, I wanna see his lower half too,” Alya said breezily, slinging her backpack onto her shoulder. “And hey, I call dibs on being the bridesmaid at your wedding, but only if you swear you’re not inviting Lila.”

Marinette buried her face in her hands. “We’ve created a monster.”

“You reap what you sow,” Alya sang, patting her shoulder in mock-sympathy.

Marinette just groaned louder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, that's the end of this silly, dorky little story. It wasn't even supposed to be twelve chapters! Thanks for coming along with me; I appreciated all the comments and kudos!

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](https://tsuki-chibi.tumblr.com/).


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